Building block



o 1938- -A. HENDERSON 2,131,803

BUILDINGv BLOCK Filed May 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. HENDERSON BUILDING BLOCK Oct. 4, 1938.

Filed May 15, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 4, 1938 I V J "UN E S S PATE T *oFl-lclz Albert Henderson, .Pittsbiirgh, Pa., assignor to William P. Witherow, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application May 15, 1936,. Serial No. 19,870

is Claims. (Griz-41) This inventionrelates to a building block'and, Fig. 5 is a sectional View along the line V-V in particular, toa molded concrete'block adaptaof Fig. 4. l w ble for variousfunctions in the construction of As shown in Figure 1, the block indicated gendifferent types of buildings. erally at has arecessed panel l l formed in a As manufactured at present, concrete building side l2 and an end l3: The end I4 is provided 5- blocks are usuallyp'rovided with a rock face on with a groove l5 disposed centrally thereof. The one side. Ihisnecessitates that the blocks be usual voids l6 extend'through the body of the molded from'a'relatively' dry mix. Asa result, block leaving a strengthening web I'l therebethe finished blocks are porous and a wall comtween. e 1 1 V v posed thereof is not proof against permeation by The half block l8 shown in Figure 2 is similar 19 rain water. The rock face, furthermore, into the whole block, but isonly half as long. Becreases the cost and weight of the blocks. The cause of its reduced'dii'nension, it has only one appearance of the rock face reveals its artificial void- Hi. The panels II on adjacent sides and character. The difference between the cost of the groove E5 in one end, however, are characterrock face blocks and 'plain blocks is such that it is isticof both the whole and the half blocks. 15

I economical to use the latter in foundations or Fi re 3 hows how he groove 5 rv as a other places where the blocks are concealed. It k y fo o tar l9 f m a joint between is thus necessary for the manufacturer to stock .l' oent bl s- The recessed panel H n the em1 two different types of block. In addition, the of the abutting block is likewise effective in this 0 blocks used as stretchers are not well suited to i AS a u a Wa formed o b o s other purposes such as lintels, jambs or copings, v y ea resistance to horizontal t tetc. and it has been the practice to make special F gu e 4 illu trates the x erior of a corner blocks for these particular portions of a buildin a W Constructed of y improved bleeksing. As there shown, the stretcher courses are com- I have invented a block which overcomes the posed 0f blocks The blocks at the come! aforementioned objections to the present type of e a Side e p in One Portion of the Wall rock face block and is characterized by additional d a nd in e e Presenting a fully advantages which will be pointed out in the ished rn without requiring p i o k course of the following detailed description. In A W dOW pe 20 is defined y a course 2| Il accordance with my invention, I provide blocks 0f f bl s 43 a With the groove 5 19- having a recessed panel formed on one side and Wardly and Parallel to the face of the Wall- These one end. In the other endIform a groove adaptblocks c st e a Window Sill. e ja b 22 ed to receive the edge of a sash placed in i d is composed of alternating whole and half blocks openings forming a wall constructed of my i while the lintel 23 is composed of whole blocks .3 proved block. The block may be used i t t hlaid endwise with their grooved ends down. The or courses and is also well adapted for various rooved ends of the l b oc s e ew se exother uses such as lintels, jambs or copings. pesed t0 the Window p e grooves 15 By providing a recessed anel i one id d of the sill, jamb and lintel blocks thus provide one end, I obtain a fini hed apearange t t a recess for the edges of a sash 24. The alined l0 exterior of wall corners, without requiring a Voids of the lintel blocks may e finedwith 40 special block. My invention also contemplates conqrete as shown at 2 after disposing rein a half block'to be used at certain points. The Forcmg bars 26 therem- The resultmg beam half block has half the length of the whole block amply Strong the had of the bucks i above the lintel blocks. otherwise somewhat similar to the whole A coping 21 is formed by disposing blocks on 45 end with their grooved ends down. The 'arrangement of the blocks forming the corner of the coping is clearly shown at 28. The voids of these blocks are preferably filled with cement.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of the block;

f a w of the f block? ished surfaces in both portions of the wall are Fig. 3 1s a partial horizontal section through a provided J mt we n adj nt l ok Beams 29 may be laid in the wall to support Fig. 4 1s a perspective view of a wall built of a floor or deck roof '30. the blocks of my invention; and V The advantages of my invention over the prior 55 By disposing the corner blockshorizontally, fin- V practice in the manufacture of concrete blocks will be readily apparent. From the standpoint of appearance, my blocks are not artificial looking and on the contrary are very attractive when laid up in a wall. They are cheaper and lighter than rock faced blocks. The cost of the blocks, furthermore, is such that they may be used in foundations or other places where concealed from view without sacrificing economy. Since my blocks do not require concrete of a relatively dry mix for forming the face, they may be made of a Wet mix and the molds vibrated to ensure proper filling and a smooth surface on the finished product impervious to moisture. All parts of the building block can be built up from the one type of block, including sills, jambs, lintels, copings, etc. The web I! of the whole block is useful in picking up the blocks by one hand.

While I have disclosed but one embodiment of my invention, changes therein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. A building block having top and bottom faces constituting mortar-receiving portions of the block, and side and end faces, all generally at right angles to one another, at least one end face having a recessed panel whose margins are spaced inwardly from all four edges of such face, but which panel extends over the major portion of the face, the other end face having a slot therein extending from the top face to the bottom face, whereby, when such blocks are disposed end to end in courses, the slot in one block and the recessed panel in the end of an adjacent block form keys with the mortar therebetween.

2. A wall including an exterior corner composed of a plurality of courses of blocks, each of said blocks having top and bottom faces constituting mortar-receiving portions of the block, and side and end faces, all generally at right angles to one another, at least one end face having a recessed panel whose margins are spaced inwardly from all four edges of such face, but which panel extends over the major portion of the face, the other end face having a slot therein extending from the top face to the bottom face, whereby the slots and recessed panels of adjacent blocks laid end to end in said courses form keys with the mortar between adjacent blocks.

3. A wall including a window opening, said wall comprising a plurality of courses of blocks, each of said blocks having top and bottom faces constituting mortar-receiving portions of the block, and side and end faces, all generally at right angles to one another, at least one end face having a recessed panel whose margins are spaced inwardly from all four edges of such face, but which panel extends over the major portion of the face, the other end face having a slot therein extending from the top face to the bottom face, the blocks adjacent said window opening being laid with their slotted faces adjacent the said opening, providing a continuous recess thereabout adapted to receive the edge of a sash, the slot in the end of one block in a course and the recessed panel in the abutting end of an adjacent block disposed end to end therewith forming keys with the mortar disposed therebetween.

ALBERT HENDERSON. 

